Flutterby
by The Rabid Bunny
Summary: Follow up to Glow. Sweet and fluffy with a lemon twist. Still threats of bodily harm.


_A/N: Howdy, howdy. Got inspired and decided to write another one shot. This is a sequel to Glow, and it is a little more fluffy. It's not quite the tangy lemons that I usually write, but it's nice. I like this relationship for these two. Anyways, enjoy. To all of my readers and reviewers, know that I love you all. I dedicate this beauty to dragonzahurr who sent me a message that meant a lot to me, and I just want to give my thanks._

_Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and apparently Disney. I sadly am not either._

Flutterby

"I swear to God, Naruto, this is all your fault!"

The blond ninja ducked a flying clipboard as he scrambled to find his way out of the examination room. The atmosphere in there had just become extremely volatile, and he just knew that if the medic got her hands on him he would surely die.

Death at the mercy of his best friend was most assuredly not the most dignified way to go. Well, considering that the friend in question was Haruno Sakura, one of the most powerful kunoichi in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, that may not be so bad after all. But, to drive a medic, whose purpose was giving life, to killing him may not go over so well. Especially if Lady Tsunade found out that he had caused her favorite apprentice to commit murder. Yeah, the old lady would definitely use Orochimaru's resurrection technique to bring his whiskered behind back to life just so that she could take her own shot at killing him.

"But, Sakura-chan, it wasn't all my fault!" The fox-boy pulled his best pout, but it fell on deaf ears, as the girl kicked the door shut with a resounding and wall-rattling slam.

She rounded on the ninja currently residing on the examination table that sat against the wall of the room. She cursed uncontrollably at the sight of his unconscious appearance and kicked the chair reserved for visitors. The chair hit the wall and splintered into tiny pieces.

No, she knew that it wasn't Naruto's fault that her patient had gotten hurt again. She was well aware that the idiot made his own choices to continually put his life in danger for the sake of their village, as did all shinobi when they went on away missions. She only wished he didn't come back injured after almost every mission. The problem was that the injuries were usually only mostly life threatening when he traveled with that dimwit, Naruto!

Ooo, that knuckle-head was totally in for it when she finished with her shift at the hospital.

And, tomorrow, she was going directly the Tsunade-shishou to request that Shino never be put on a team with Naruto again.

Ever!

Closing her eyes and taking a deep cleansing breath, the pink-haired medic counted slowly to ten in order to calm herself. She still had to make it through the process of assessing the Aburame's injuries, and then she would have to heal him.

Steadying herself, preparing for anything, she slowly approached the table. Her green gaze raked over his body, looking for any sign of external injury before she made to begin removing his armor and clothing. As she reached for the zipper of his oversized coat, Sakura heard the telltale buzzing of the hive of destruction beetles that made their home just under his skin.

She felt herself relax just a little at the thought that his bugs had begun to work at repairing his body.

So, with hands that only shook slightly, Sakura returned to her task of removing Shino's coat from his body. She was so enrapt in her task that she did not notice the shift in the man's chakra, nor the movement of his hands until they clasped over hers.

She gave a startled squeak and moved to pull her hands out of his grip, but he tightened his hold on her. Shino's hands were softer than most shinobi's, even her own, as he rarely found the need to use his hands or weapons when in the field. They were also warm which was reassuring in that he had not lost any blood nor was he ill. Sakura found herself searching for visible signs of injury once again just in case she had missed something. A soft chuckle from her patient had her eyes focusing in his face.

Shino was not only conscious and lucid, but he was laughing at her.

She supposed that most people would not know that he was actually amused, since his face was still schooled into its perpetual stoic expression. His dark eyes held no spark of emotion whatsoever. The only sign of his amusement was the smallest curving at the left corner of his mouth, what would look like a confident smirk to anyone else. But Sakura knew him better than that, and she knew that he was making fun of her.

"Oh, stuff it, Shino. I can't believe you of all people let that idiot goad you into recklessness every time you go on a mission together. What's worse is that he never gets hurt, but you always seem to."

She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back on the annoying smirk that only seemed to be getting bigger. Her lower lip made its way into a pout as she tried her hardest to hold onto her anger. All of the shinobi in the village were morons, and this guy was no better than the rest. She couldn't let her attachment to him overcome her outrage over his stupidity.

At the feel of his lean body pressing against her back as his arms slid around her waist, all thoughts of destruction and dismemberment skittered out of reach. It took everything the woman had to hold a rigid stance and not melt into the feel of her man. He really had been gone far too long this time, and she really didn't want to spend their reunion in an angry tizzy.

With a reluctant sigh, Sakura relaxed her body and leaned back against Shino's chest. He only leaned down to plant a soft kiss atop her head, then just stood there with his arms around her.

After several moments, Sakura huffed again and turned to face the bug-nin. He obviously wasn't going to grovel. Then, again, the Aburames weren't exactly the begging type. And Shino knew Sakura all-too-well. While her wrath was swift to surface and left much damage in its wake, it fizzled out far too quickly for Sakura's tastes. Shino knew that he only needed to weather the storm for a short period before she would relent.

Boy, did that piss Sakura off.

But, she was powerless against it, because it was utterly and completely true.

So, she found herself turning into the heat of her love instead of beating him to a bloody pulp. Silently, the woman vowed that Naruto would not be so lucky the next time she saw him.

"I know that look, and I must remind you, again, that my injury is not entirely Naruto's fault." Sakura's face flamed brilliantly for a split second as she tried to renew her tirade as well as step out of Shino's embrace. He held onto her tightly, giving her a small smile so that she would eventually realize that he was just poking fun at her again.

Upon seeing the tiny grin, Sakura pulled out one of her own secret weapons. Playing a game that the two had unwittingly entered some time before, she pursed her lips into a positively pretty pout and looked up at him through her lashes. The man's grin disappeared immediately and was replaced with a stern frown. Sakura mentally chalked herself up a point at having gotten under Shino's skin. He, for only a fraction of a second, revealed that he was affected by his girl's puppy eyes, and she used it to her advantage by pushing her bottom lip out even further.

"Yeah, but it was mostly his fault, right?" She asked around the pout, looking up at him with a stricken look in her eyes.

Shino groaned and abruptly released his hold on Sakura, and he turned to take a step away. She gripped the back of his heavy coat tightly.

"Uh-uh, I got you, and you know it." The girl called to him, triumphant smirk curling her lips.

Shino stood with his back to her for a minute or two before turning back toward her. He gripped the hand that had previously been holding his coat between both of his own.

"I believe you think too highly of your abilities, Sakura-chan. Your appalling attempts had no affect on me whatsoever."

Sakura blinked at him for a second then pulled her hand from his. She turned away and began shuffling papers on her desk in an attempt to compose the anger and disappointment that washed over her. That damned stoic Aberame nature was just a little too much to deal with. And Shino had become a master at keeping his own emotions under wraps, which was something of a bane to the overly-emotional Sakura. She couldn't keep her feelings hidden no matter how hard she tried, but Shino could keep every ounce of pain and happiness inside of himself. Something that Sakura thought was dangerous, and she often told Shino as much. To which he had cheekily, well to him anyways, answered that he could handle it.

What disturbed Sakura the most was that, over the past months with him, she had come to understand Shino on a very intimate level. She had gotten to know every little eyebrow quark and small smirk that the man would sometimes offer. And she could generally guage his moods just from the fluctuations in his chakra. But, she still couldn't tell how he truly felt about her, which was why she had taken to trying to pry any sort of sentiment out of him.

Momentarily, the medic was taken back to that night several months previous when Shino had used the ethereal glow of a multitude of fireflies in order to confess his love to her. He had been sweet and romantic, and their first kisses had been soft and unhurried. But, it took only a few days for the Aberame heir to revert back to his introverted nature. Which Sakura had tried so hard to understand. He was a ninja, and being sans emotions was always a plus for any ninja, but he had even become somewhat cold to _her_. They shared very few intimate moments between her shifts at the hospital and his missions which made it difficult to spend time together. However, they had still gotten to know one another quite well, but sometimes it felt that they were little more that good friends.

But she wouldn't let Shino know how much their little interaction had bothered her. Mustering up every ounce of nonchalance that she could, the girl shrugged while continuing to gather up papers.

"Yeah, I know, what with you being in such tight control of your emotions and all." She could just hear his eyes rolling at her words, so she changed the subject. "So...Since you're back, want to come over for dinner?"

Aburame Shino could be accused of many things. He had been pegged as cold, unfeeling, tough, smart, and utterly heartless. He had never been described as oblivious, and he knew that his exchange with Sakura had severely affected the girl. He had thought them merely teasing one another, as Sakura was prone to do what she could to get a rise out of him, but their conversation had taken a turn to the serious near the end. And he knew Sakura well enough to recognize that she was on the verge of becoming emotional. When that happened, no one wanted to be around.

He nodded in response to her question, and then stepped away from her to head from the room.

"I'll be there at seven." His words followed him from the room.

Just great. Shino had picked up on her distress, and now he was shutting himself off. Being the emotionally cool customer that most Aburames were, Shino would often disconnect himself when trying to take stock in a situation. And now he was taking stock in Sakura. Which was not so great, considering that he would have no idea what her problem was. Who knows what he would think?

Sakura sighed and looked around the empty examination room. The clock on the wall told her that she still had about an hour left of her shift, but she really didn't feel like seeing anymore patients. In her current frame of mind, she would not be able to concentrate on healing, and that could be dangerous. So taking a deep breath, she decided to go try to beg off an hour early from the Hokage.

* * *

A short time later found Sakura wandering through the village seeming to enjoy the late afternoon of an early spring day. The sun shone brightly as it made its descent into the western horizon, and Sakura couldn't help but find clarity of thought in the first truly warm day of the year. Once the sun dropped down past the mountains in the far distance, the air would surely cool to a brisk spring evening, but for now, the temperature was pleasant.

Sakura barely noticed the splendid weather of an only sparsely clouded springtime sky, as her thoughts were consumed by ideas of a much darker nature. Namely one Aberame Shino.

She couldn't help but to ponder their interaction earlier that day, which in turn made her think about many of their past interactions. They all seemed to follow a similar pattern. Shino would tease Sakura in his own peculiar way, but when she would try to do the same, he would clam up. His whole demeanor would close off, then he would leave as soon as it was polite to.

This was the Shino that she had known since childhood, the one who watched everything and stayed to the side in order to decide the best way to handle a situation. This was not the man who had lured her into a meadow during a full moon in order to tell he that he loved her. And Sakura had been prepared for him to be introverted, but not with her. Not after that night.

The problem wasn't that he was a poor companion. No, Shino had been there as a shoulder for her when she needed someone to talk to, someone to cry to, even when she just needed someone to yell at. He had stood there solidly and let her use him as her rock. And now that they had gotten to know one another better, Sakura had begun to feel that she was in the process of battering herself against her rock in order to find some level of affection from him. Sure, her was there when needed, but _he_ never seemed to need _her_. He never sought her out for comfort, and he surely never tried to get more intimate than a few kisses.

And that was the root of all of Sakura's insecurities.

This sudden realization caused Sakura to halt in mid-step. It was so shocking, but it was so true. Shino had kissed her, but that's about all he had done with her. Otherwise he treated her much like a close friend or a .... sister. If that were the case, what had happened? He had been the one to initiate their relationship, but he had failed to take it to the next level. Had he gotten to know her, then come to regret his choice? If so, why was he still stringing her along?

"Sakura, you're going to make yourself sick if you keep worrying so much." His soft voice startled her out of her near panic.

Sakura looked up from where she had been walking only to realize that she had nearly walked right past where Shino had been sitting. She blinked one hard time before looking up and around herself. Somehow she had made her way back to the meadow in which Shino had confessed his feelings toward her. She glanced around the vast grassland, and thought how different it looked in the spring sunshine. Gone was the ethereal glow of the full moon, gone were the twinkling lights of the fireflies. Now, she could only squint against the garish late afternoon sun that bathed the field in a wash of yellowish-orange light.

"Um...what are you doing here?" She asked bringing her hands in front of her body to clasp them together tightly. Shino noted this movement, and understood that she was nervous. He patted the ground next to him and beckoned for her to sit. The girl shifted from foot to foot as if pondering what may be a booby trap. Good to see that not all of her shinobi skills had gotten rusty while working in the hospital.

"Looking up at you is putting a strain on my neck, and I would very much like to see you without the sun glaring into my eyes," he said matter-of-factly. That seemed to make sense to the girl, and after only another second of thought she sat beside him. But her body was stiff and her nervousness was still very tangible. Shino knew Sakura very well, though. He knew that all he had to do was wait, and she would tell him what was on her mind. His inherent quietness was a bit of a pain for her, so she would generally ramble on just to fill the silence. Now, all he had to do was wait.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Ummm...Shino?" Her voice was hesitant and just a bit scared sounding. He immediately picked up on the fluctuations of her voice and turned from his contemplation of the rare butterfly that had landed on his hand.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" She was silent for just a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. All the while, he watched her with a close scrutiny, the butterfly completely forgotten.

"How do you do that?" When he only looked at her with his head slightly tilted in question, she elaborated. "How do you always know when something's bothering me?"

Shino sat for a few moments as if collecting his own thoughts, then he took a deep breath and released it before speaking.

"Did you know that most people can tell what you're feeling, Sakura?" She noticed his lack of -chan at the end of her name, but tried to focus on his question. She shook her head, confused at his words. He nodded. "It's true. You are the kind of person who doesn't hide what you're feeling, so most people know when you're happy or angry. The only time you try to hide your emotions is when you feel pain or are upset." Sakura looked down at her hands which were trying to tie themselves into a knot in her lap. Shino grasped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up so that she could look at him. He had removed his sunglasses, and she found herself assaulted with the deep brown of his eyes.

"The only time you hide how you are feeling is when you're sad, hurt, or in pain. And I've seen you through all of those emotions, so I know how to tell when you're hiding them. Like you are now." Shino was looking directly at her without the protection of his glasses, and Sakura could see a glimmer, just a spark of emotion in those dark depths.

Sakura tried to pull herself away from him. She wanted nothing more that to get away, nothing more than to run from what she had just seen. Shino without his sunglasses was too much for her to face, and she didn't know if she could survive him.

His grip held firm, as his other hand moved up to clasp around her left bicep. Unless she chose to use her own monstrous strength, she was no match for him, but she also knew he would not hurt her. But Sakura also knew that she didn't really want to leave. She had started this, and she must finish it. She only hoped that she would survive with some dignity and pride intact. Let alone any piece of her heart still beating. The girl closed her eyes and took a very deep breath. She released it slowly, then opened her eyes in order to confront the man to whom she had given her heart.

His features were still configured into that stoic formation of barely arched brows, relaxed jaw, and firmly lined mouth. But his eyes told the tale of his feelings. He was concerned and just a little frightened of what Sakura was feeling. Sakura found herself swallowing audibly. She reached out and touched his cheek just below his left eye. Then her hand flitted across his face to rub across his right eyebrow. All the while, Shino sat and let her explore him.

"I had no idea," she spoke softly, almost a whisper to herself.

"What?" He murmured just a softly.

"That's why you wear them, isn't it?"

Shino closed his eyes briefly and relished the feel of her fingertips as they now glided along his jawline. Haruno Sakura had just figured out one of his deepest secrets.

"You can't keep your emotions out of your eyes, so that's why you wear the sunglasses."

He felt her fingers slide across his eyelids, then they traveled back down his jaw to his shoulder where she gave him a reassuring squeeze. Then she leaned in ever so closely to his ear, close enough that he had to relinquish his hold on her chin.

"Don't worry," she whispered gustily in his ear," your secret's safe with me."

Shino's eyes snapped open to see that she had returned to her seated position while smiling sweetly at him. He eyed her warily for a long time before she narrowed her eyes at him.

"So, now that I can see into your emotions, I want to ask you something." Shino did his best not to squirm as he waited for her question. If she had the confidence to just come out and ask him something personal right at this moment, he was doomed. She would be able to read him all too easily.

"Do you still love me like you said you did that first night?" The Aberame's eyebrows extended involuntarily, and it took all of his will power not to flee. He looked at her wide-eyed for a very long time.

The pink haired medic watched his as he stare at her, disbelief written all over his face. Finally Shino brought his shock under enough control to ask one simple question.

"Why would you ask me a question like that?"

There was a flash of anger, perhaps some disappointment, and maybe just a little pain in the deep recesses of his eye. Shino's nostrils even flared which was a sure sing that he was having difficulty controlling his emotions. Sakura cleared her throat uncomfortably before answering.

"Well, it's just that it seems like our relationship is not one of a couple in love, but one of...best friends, maybe." Shino's brows furrowed in confusion, so she hurried on to better explain. "You see, it's just that you're always there when I need help, but you never ask it from me. It's almost one-sided in that aspect. I never know how you're feeling, except when you're making fun of me, and I just don't feel very useful as a girlfriend." She stopped short at the almost relieved look on her man's face. "What?"

"Oh, Sakura-chan," his shoulders shook in a very poor attempt at hiding his mirth, "I know exactly you're talking about, and let me explain something. My mother came to me some time ago and told me a secret that I would have to share with a very special girl. She never told me who that girl was, only saying that I would know when I found her." He gave her a very pointed look, before continuing. "I've known that you were that girl for some time, but I wanted to give you the time to make that decision for yourself."

Sakura started to say that she didn't understand, but Shino held up his hand to ward of her interruption.

"You see, I took our relationship very slowly so that you would have the time to decide if you are truly comfortable with me. You shake your head, but we both know that most people, at the best of times, find me creepy. An Aberame's relationship with his beetles is the most important relationship of his life; therefor, his spouse must understand that she will always be a close second to insects."

Sakura barged her way into the conversation by stating, "I've always known how important your beetles are to you, and I would never think to ask for that to change."

"Exactly," he said nodding at her. "I knew from early on that you would understand my relationship with my insects, but there is something that you don't realize. If I don't keep my emotions in check, the insects that dwell inside of me are affected by what I feel. They feed directly from my chakra, and if my signature changes even slightly, so does their mood. Say, if I'm angry, they move into attack formation. If I'm sad, they leave my body and hover near me in order to provide comfort. Or they seek out that which will bring me comfort.

Realization dawned suddenly, and Sakura inhaled sharply.

"So, that night, they were looking for me because I was what you needed for comfort?" His nod spoke volumes.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, reveling in this newfound information before Sakura continued the conversation.

"Okay, now what?" It took a while for him to answer.

"Well, now that you know how my insects will react when I allow myself to fully feel, you will be prepared to face them. Don't worry, they would never hurt you, but they are their own entity. There will be times that it will feel as if you are taking on two people instead of just me." He watched her for just a second, then asked, "So, are you still with me?"

Sakura looked up at him, astonished at what he had just asked. But her reply was whittled down to just a simple head nod as she watched Shino's destruction beeltes begin to pour from his body. They formed into a hovering cloud that surrounded both of them for just a second before moving to lazily hang a discreet distance away.

Sakura's mouth hung open in awe. "What are they doing now?"

Shino didn't answer, but when she brought her head back down to look at him, his expression said it all. Her cheeks burned brightly at the positively lecherous smirk that had formed across his face.

"Oh, I don't know if I like being able to see how you feel." Was followed by an uncharacteristic squeak as Shino scooped her up and pulled her into his lap.

"Too late, Sakura-chan, you already know all of my darkest secrets, which means that now you have to tell me yours." He kissed her hard and deep, bruising her lips in the process. When he pulled away from her, the girl was misty eyed and only just a little stunned. Again he graced her with that wicked grin. "Torturing your secrets out of you will be easier than I thought."

She didn't have time to react to his cheeky endearment before her lips were assaulted once more. Shino ransacked her mouth with lips, teeth, and tongue. When he wasn't massaging her tongue with his own, he was nipping at her playfully, all the while holding holding her bodily against him as if she might change her mind and leave.

This new Shino was exhilarating as well as frightening. He was impatient and relentless as he brought his hands to the front of Sakura's clothing in order to divest her of her modesty. He did not seem to care that they were in the middle of an open field, in which anyone could pass and spot them. His efforts were focusing on ridding them both of their clothing as quickly as possible. Sakura could only watch in shocked awe as he kissed her everywhere: her face, mouth, nose, chin, throat, collarbone. He moved feverishly across her body, all the while holding on to her with bruising strength.

Finally, Sakura pulled herself from her stupor, and strove to sooth the beast that her love had become. She put her hands over his, which were gripping her hips tightly, and spoke his name softly. Shino pulled up from where he had been lavishing attention on her navel, his eyes sparkling with intensity.

"You don't have to hold on so tight, I'm not going anywhere." Clarity seeped into his eyes at her words as he pulled his hands from her body, an embarrassed frown covering his features. Sakura reached up to smooth the frown away with her fingers.

"I like seeing you like this, passionate and at the edge of your control. I like knowing that I have this affect on you after such a long wait, but you don't have to fear me coming to my senses and running. I love you, Shino, and I'm not going anywhere."

Shino smiled.

A bright, heartfelt, smile of pure happiness, one that caused Sakura's own last vestiges of doubt to flutter away, was the answer to her own confession.

They kissed again, this one deep, sweet, and passionate.

When their bodies came together, Sakura and Shino clutched one another closely, renewing their spoken endearments with every slide of skin, every thrust of hip. Sakura took him in as deeply as she could both in body and heart. Shino lengthened his strokes with every sigh of her pleasure in his attempt to deepen their bond. Their bodies blended together as they brought one another into the throes of ultimate happiness. Sakura tumbled first with an arch to her back, a broken cry, and clenching of her inner walls. Her lover fell soon after with a few last strokes, a shiver that traversed his spine, and his own broken sigh.

It took a few moments for the two find their way back from their free fall into oblivion, and when they finally did come to, they realized that they had an audience.

Sakura startled and moved to cover herself as a shadow loomed over them. Shino, however, did not seem too worried as he shushed his lady with a finger to her lips. He held her arm and pointed to the sky. Her pink hair fluttered around her in what could have been a light breeze, as she looked above her. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. She looked back at Shino, and he had to take a deep breath at the sight of tears shimmering in owlishly round green eyes that reflected both the brilliant pinks of the sky brought on by the sunset and the colors of the insects that surrounded them.

Sakura remembered now seeing that Shino had been acting as a perch to one of these lovely creatures when she had come upon him. One of the rarest butterflies in Fire Country, its wings were hued in the palest shade of pink, while its body was a startling emerald color.

And now there must have been a million of these wondrous animals flying in formation above them.

The gesture was not lost on the girl as she threw herself into her love's arms. They watched the display in silence for some time before she spoke.

"Keep doing things like that, and I might begin to think you actually like me."

A deep chuckle followed by a hearty kiss were her answer.


End file.
